Sliding door or panel closing mechanism

ABSTRACT

AN AUTOMATIC CLOSING MECHANISM FOR A SLIDING DOOR OR PANEL COMPRISING A COLLAPSIBLE LINKAGE CONNECTED BETWEEN A STATIONARY FRAME PORTION AND THE SLIDING DOOR OR PANEL, INCLUDING AN EXTENDABLE LINK ADAPTED TO BE LOADED UPON EXTENSION WHEN THE SLIDING DOOR PANEL IS OPENED TO CAUSE AUTOMATIC CONTRACTION OF SAID EXTENDABLE LINK TO REPOSITION SAID COLLAPSIBLE LINKAGE AND THEREBY CLOSE THE SLIDING DOOR OR PANEL WHEN THE OPENING FORCE IS REMOVED.

D. C. GREEN SLIDING DOOR 0R PANEL CLOSING MECHANISM Feb. 9, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1969 N R 0 m& as N F w m ma m 5 w M M m M K 6 MW 4 H 8 F6). 9, C. GREEN SLIDING DOOR OR PANEL CLOSING MECHANISM Filed March 5. 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 50" U F T"g.4.

INVENTOR.

ocw/uo c. 6256M BY Amaze x2455 /fifueog PATAL/D/J United States Patent 3,561,161 SLIDING DOOR OR PANEL CLOSING MECHANISM Donald C. Green, 21300 Sommerside Lane, Northville, Mich. 48167 Filed Mar. 5, 1969, Ser. No. 804,610 Int. Cl. Ef 1/08, 11/54 US. Cl. 49-359 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (I) Field of the invention The present invention refers to an automatic door or panel closure mechanism, and more particular to a sliding door or panel closure mechanism as distinct from a swinging door closing mechanism.

(II) Description of the prior art It is common practice to provide sliding doors or panels inbuildings to provide ingress or egress into or out of a room or other enclosure, for access to a cabinet, closet or the like, or to just provide an opening as in the case of Window panels. The sliding doors or panels are usually constructed of two panel sections of which one is stationary and the other is slidable to provide an opening. The slidable panel section is adapted to be slid parallel to the stationary section in close proximity and overlapping relationship thereto. The same structure is embodied in horizontally slidable windows in which case, however, usually a lock is provided to retain the sliding window panel in open position, thus resisting the force of the closure mechanism until the lock is released.

Closure mechanisms for sliding doors or panels, windows or the like, have been proposed which employ retraction devices usually in the form of spring-loaded cables or the like, which cause retraction of the panel upon release of the opposite force. These devices, which may layman. The moldings, frames or door jambs need considerable modification to adequately support and mount these known devices and their placement is such as to make servicing or maintenance difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel structure, arrangement and disposition of a sliding door or panel closure mechanism which is openly accessible and which can be easily installed to any sliding panel structure without specific skill.

In general, the present novel closure mechanism comprises a collapsible linkage arrangement comprising a first link pivotally connected at one end to the sliding panel and at its other end to an extendable link having energy storing means, which opposite end is pivotally secured to a stationary part of the sliding panel structure. The linkage lies in a plane parallel to the panels. A third guiding 3,561,161 Patented Feb. 9, 1971 link is likewise pivotally connected to a stationary part of the sliding panel structure and at its other end is pivotally connected to the first link at a preselected distance from the pivotal connection of the first link to the extendable link. In the closed position of the sliding panel the collapsible linkage is stretched out in a substantially horizontal position. However, upon sliding movement of the sliding panel into the open position, the linkage will be collapsed to fold vertically whereby the energy storing, extendable linkage will be extended thereby loading the energy storing means so that upon release of the manual pushing or pulling force on the slidable panel the energy storing means will be actuated to move the slidable panel back into closing position. The force of the energy storing means and the extendable link varies in accordance with the collapsed position of the linkage which is dependent on the distance the sliding panel is moved be tween the closed and the maximum open position. In other words, the closing force applied to the sliding panel will be in direct relation to the amount to which the sliding panel has to be moved into closing position so as to prevent any excessively forceful and harsh movement of the sliding panel. If, for example, the sliding panel is moved through only one-third of its maximum opening position the energy storing means of the extendable link will also only be loaded to approximately one-third of its maximum loading capacity, thus acting to close the sliding panel with a force considerably less than its maximum force exerted upon maximum opening of the sliding panel. The extendable link is further constructed so as to provide a dampening efiect upon closure of the panel to further assure a smooth and substantially noiseless closure of the sliding panel.

Further novel features and distinct advantages will become apparent by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate in:

FIG. 1 a sliding panel construction, which, in this instance, is shown as a sliding glass door wall embodying the present invention and showing the sliding section in closed position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the sliding section in a partly open position illustrating the collapsed condition of the present novel closure device;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed front view of the present novel closure device shown in substantially closed position of the sliding panel;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the linkage arrangement of the present novel closure device in a partly open position with the extendable linkage shown in cross section; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the extendable linkage in a more advanced open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a door wall 10 disposed within a building wall 12. The door wall 10 is set within a frame 14 and comprises a section 16 which is stationary within the frame 13 and a similar section 18, which is longitudinally slidable within the frame 14, to provide an opening within the door wall for egress or ingress through the building wall 12. The sliding section 18 is normally provided with a handgrip lock 20 to facilitate movement of the section. The sliding section 18 is disposed parallel to the stationary section 16 but within a plane offset from the plane of the stationary section to permit movement of the sliding section alongside the stationary section in overlapping relationship thereto. For support and gliding movement of the sliding section 18, the upper edge 17 is usually supported in a guide rail (not shown) set within the door frame 14 as is well known and the bottom edge 19 is likewise positioned within a guide rail 22 fastened to the floor 24 of the building structure.

Both sections 16 and 18 of the door wall may be constructed as commonly known glass panels as illustrated or, only the stationary section 16 may be a glass panel and the sliding section 18 may be a screen door. The sections 16 and 18 are also known to be made of solid wood or louvered or the like, all of which are known in panel openings of this type.

In the present instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stationary section 16 comprises a surrounding frame 26 enclosing a glass panel 28, and the sliding section 18 is likewise composed of a surrounding frame 30 enclosing a similar glass panel 32.

The sliding section 18 is normally held in closed position, as shown in FIG. 1, by an automatic closure device 34, which is attached to the upper rear edge of the sliding section 18 and to a horizontally opposite point at the frame 26 of the stationary section 16 for substantially horizontal extension between these two points when the sliding section 18 is in closed position. Instead of attachment to the frame 26 of the stationary section 16, the closure device 34 may be attached to the door frame 14 if it is found to be more convenient.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, the closure device 34 comprises in general a multiple collapsible linkage composed of a first link member 36 of constant length, which is pivotally attached at one end as at 38 to a bracket 40 suitably secured to the outer rear edge 42 of the panel frame 30 of the sliding section 18 at the upper edge 17 thereof. The other end of the link member 36 is povitally attached as at 44 to one end of an extendable link 46. The other end of the extendable link 46 is similarly pivotally attached as at 48 to a bracket 50, which is suitably secured to the panel frame 26 of the stationary section 16 near the upper rear thereof. If it is found to be more suitable, the bracket 50 could be attached to the doorwall frame 14. Attached to the same bracket 50 by means of a pivotal pin 52 is one end of another link member 54 which is likewise of constant length and has its other end pivotally connected as at 56 to the first link member 36 at a point spaced a predetermined distance from the pivotal connection 44 of the link 36 to the extendable link member 46 for a reason to be described in the operation of the device.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the effective length L2 of the first link member 36 between the pivots 38 and 56 is identical in dimension to the effective length L1 of the second link member 54 between the pivots 52 and 56. Thus, the pivot 56 is located at the center of the linkage between the two outer pivots 38 and 52 which are adapted to move relatively towards or away from each other upon sliding movement of the door section or panel 18 causing the linkage to collapse or jack-knife at the center pivot 56 to a position as shown in FIG. 2.

The extended portion 37 of the first link 36 between the center pivot 56 and the pivotal connection 44 with the extendable link 46 provides a lever portion for swinging movement around the center pivot 56 upon opening sliding movement of the door or panel section 18, thereby forcibly extending the extendable link 46 as shown in FIG. 2. Upon release of the opening force on the sliding door panel 18, the extendable link 46 contracts automatically and thereby pivots the link 36 around the center pivot 56 in the opposite direction causing the longer portion of the link 36 to function as a lever acting on the sliding door panel 18 to move it back into closed position as shown in FIG. 1.

To further increase the leverage between the link 36 and the exte-ndable link 46, the link 36 is pivotally attached as at 43 to an intermediate bracket 58 which is secured to the end of the extension rod 60 of the extendable link 46.

The extendable link 46 comprises a longitudinal housing or cylinder 62 which rear end is attached by pivot pin 48 to the bracket 50. The extension rod 60 extends out of the front end of the cylinder 62 for attachment to the link 36 and is adapted to reciprocate within the cylinder 62 upon actuation of the device to thus vary the effective length of the link 46. As is known in devices of this type, the cylinder 62 may be air, hydraulic or spring loaded, or may comprise any combination of these, to effect an automatic actuation of the extension rod 60, and any of these means may be used with the present invention. However, for illustrating purpose, a springloaded mechanism is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in which FIG. 4 shows the mechanism in an initial stage of extension and FIG. 5 in an intermediate position.

The cylinder 62 is closed at both ends by caps 64 and 66 respectively and the extension rod 60 extends through an aperture 67 in the front cap 66 and centrally into the chamber 63 of the cylinder. The inner end of the extension rod 60 is provided with a piston-type push plate 68 for sliding engagement with the inner walls of the cylinder 62. The cylinder 62 receives a compression spring 70 disposed around the extension rod 60 between the push plate 68 and the front cap 66 for compression by the push plate 68 upon forced extension of the extension rod 60 when the sliding panel is being opened. The rear end of the cylinder 62 may be provided with one or more orifices 72 to allow alternate entrance and escape of air into and out of the chamber 63 upon reciprocatory movement of the extension rod 60 Within the cylinder.

Referring to FIG. 4, upon opening movement of the sliding panel towards the left in the illustration, the link 36 is caused to swing around the center pivot 56 causing the linkage to collapse in a jack-knife fashion. The lever portion 37 of link 36 by pivoting around pivot 56 forces the extension rod 60 out of the cylinder 62 and thereby compressing the spring 70. The air, contained within the chamber 63 of the cylinder 62, is expelled through the rod aperture 67 in the front end cap 66 and, simultaneously, air is being sucked-in through the orifice or orifices 72. When the opening force of the sliding panel has been released at, for instance, an intermediate opening position illustrated in FIG. 5, the compression spring 70 will have been loaded to a certain amount and have stored a certain amount of energy in proportion to the degree of panel opening. The spring 70 then expands at a gradually decreasing rate of force thereby pulling the extension rod 60 inwardly of the cylinder 62. By the inward movement of the extension rod 60, the link member 36 is pivoted around the center pivot 56 in the opposite direction causing the larger portion L2 of the link to act as a lever exerting its force on the sliding panel to move the panel in a closing direction.

Although, the compression spring 70 by virtue of its design in itself provides a dampening effect on the closing movement of the panel due to its decreasing rate of force as it expands, further dampening of the mechanism is being inherently provided by the alternate expulsion and suction-in of atmospheric air through the rod aperture 67 and through the orifice or orifices 72, which obviously can be controlled to a certain extent by the number and size of the orifices. Likewise, controlled orifices could be provided through the push plate 68 to establish controlled air flow between the opposite portions of the cylinder chamber 63 divided by the push plate.

Obviously, the compression spring 70 will be designed in correspondence to the size and weight of the sliding panel, which it is supposed to move.

By the provision of the present invention, an effective inexpensive sliding door panel closure device has been provided which is conveniently serviceable, and which can be easily installed in existing structures without the need of any particular skill.

Iclaim:

1. A'closure mechanism for a slidable panel disposed within an opening of a wall comprising a collapsible linkage including: a first link member pivotally attached at one end to said slidable panel; a second link member; bracket means for pivotally connecting one end of said second link member flush to said -wall opening; the other end of said second link member being pivotally attached to said first link member at a point intermediate its ends; and extendable link having one end pivotally attached to said wall opening bracket means and its other end pivotally attached to said first link member; and means associated with said extendable link member capable of storing energy upon extension of said extendable link member.

2. The closure mechanism as defined in claim 1, in which said extendable link is pivotally connected to the end of said first link member and said second link member is pivotally connected to said first link member at a point forming the central breaking point of said collapsible linkage and a bracket for offsetting the pivotal connections between the extendable link and the end of the first link member.

3. The closure mechanism as defined in claim 1, in which the effective lengths of said first link member and said second link member between said pivotal attachments are equal to each other.

4. The closure mechanism as defined in claim 1, in which said energy storing means of said extendable link comprises a compression spring.

5. In combination: A building structure comprising a 5 Wall having an opening therein; a sliding panel disposed Within said opening and normally closing said opening; a closure device disposed between one side of said opening and said sliding panel, said closure device comprising a collapsible linkage formed of a pair of oppositely dis- 1O posed link members pivotally connected flush to said side of said opening and said sliding panel; and an extendable link member pivotally connected between said side of said opening and one of said pair of link members, said extenda'ble link member being provided with nor- 15 mally inactive energy storing means to cause collapse of said linkage in one direction of movement of said sliding panel and restoration of said linkage in another direction of movement of said sliding panel.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 577,531 6/1924 France 49379 J. KARL BELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

